Tale of The Nine Tailed: The Gumiho's Lover

06 (i)

"Stop it! Today has already been a torture for me, and now you're asking for something ridiculous.."

Lee Rang messed up his own hair, indicating that he is frustrated. On the other hand, Karina do feel bad about being a burden to someone she barely even knows. However, the urge of fighting the cruel faith against her is much more stronger than the one that forces her to act selflessly.

"Please hear me out first, ahjussi. In return of owing you a big favor, I'll do anything you ask me to. I m-mean, except for illegal things..."

The man laughed at the last two words blurted out. Rang then slightly hunched his back to reach the same level as Karina's face.

"Do I look like someone who goes by the rules? I think we both know the truth already."

"I can clearly see that too... But what do I do then, ahjussi? I feel like you're the only one whom I can put my trust on."

Humans lie. Anybody can lie. Yet, the look in her eyes portrayed something really straightforward and showed sincerity in her words - one that Lee Rang just knew about that something like that is possible during the moment. Oddly, those kind of sudden realization scares him the most.

He shook off his head in disbelief before turning his back on her and started to walk away from that place. Not even sparing a glance to look at the poor young lady.

"Ahjussi... Just please..."

Karina broke down into tears and let her knees touch the floor again. She is not yet giving up, if it was not for her drained energy. She does not even has the strength left to at least stand up let alone, to go back home.

Well, scratch that. Karina does not even want to sketch the whole scenario inside her head of going back to her 'normal life'. In fact, the thought of having to go through the same circumstances again makes her wanna throw up out of fear. Her head started to get dizzy again.

"You're so mean..."

Those words slipped from her mouth before she completely passed out.

The weather is cold that night and so does the ground surface. Yet, she remembered the last thing she landed on does not feel that way at all.

----

Lee Rang abruptly left the building and went to his car down the street. He hates himself for being weak with his own emotion when it got stirred by a single word coming out from a mere human's mouth.

"Sounds about right. Why would I be held responsible for her life? Why should I overthink about the old custom of doing a good deed if I ever owe someone? It's not like I'm a rule freak or something... And who does she think she is to tell me what to do anyway?!"

He continues to dwell on this matter inside his mind - maybe a bit too loud to the point that anyone beside him at the moment could probably hear.

When Rang was about to get into his car, a sudden realization hits him. Hard.

Fuck... There goes my secret.

-----

OC POV

I woke up with the worst headache I ever felt in my entire life. Then, the memories from last night came flooding inside my mind that it awfully makes me just want to throw up.

I stood up from wherever I was laying my body on, just to realize that my feet are now touching a carpet instead of a cold floor. Confusion instantly takes over and stopped me from what I was about to do earlier.